👾☠️👾The DeFi market shakes again — and once more, the epicenter is in Solana. 🦠
The Loopscale protocol, a decentralized lending platform based on Solana, was the victim of an exploit last Saturday, resulting in the loss of over $5.8 million, equivalent to 12% of its TVL (Total Value Locked).
The attack occurs just two weeks after the official launch of the platform, raising serious concerns about security, audits, and the maturity of DeFi projects trying to navigate an increasingly relentless environment.
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👩🚀 What Happened with Loopscale?
According to an official statement from the team:
💥• The exploit was caused by an isolated issue in the pricing system of collateral based on RateX.
💥• The incident affected one of the markets operated by the platform.
💥• Authorities have already been alerted to investigate and try to trace the attacker.
Loopscale, which promised to offer more predictable loans without the volatility of rates common in traditional DeFi protocols, initially suspended critical resources to contain the damage.
✨However, by Saturday night, the team managed to restore loan reimbursements, restockings, and the closing of loops for their users.
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📚 Platform History: From NFT to Loans
Loopscale is not a total newcomer:
💥• Originally founded as Bridgesplit in 2021, it raised $4.25 million in funding rounds involving heavyweights like Solana Labs and Coinbase Ventures.
💥• The project shifted its focus: from NFT-based yield products to a decentralized lending platform with order book-based architecture, a differentiated approach compared to liquidity pools like Aave or Solend.
Despite robust funding, the protocol could not escape market pressure: previous audits had already warned of critical vulnerabilities.
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🙅♂️ Audits and Warning Signs
💥• Loopscale underwent an audit by OShield between January and February of this year, which found several critical vulnerabilities.
💥• According to the protocol, all high-risk issues were fixed before launch.
💥• A new audit by Sec3 is reportedly underway.
Even so, the incident exposed the structural fragility that still surrounds many DeFi projects — especially those in the early stages.
Co-founder Mary Gooneratne stated on X:
🗣️“Our team is fully mobilized to investigate, recover funds, and ensure user protection.”
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🔥 2025: The Year of Hacks in Cryptography?
The attack on Loopscale is just the latest chapter in a long sequence of exploits in 2025:
💥• Bybit: record $1.46 billion hacked in February
💥• KiloEX: $7 million lost in oracle attack
💥• Infini (neoback stablecoin): $49 million evaporated
💥• And now, Loopscale: another $5.8 million drained.
The frequency and scale of these events suggest that, while DeFi technology is evolving, attackers are too — and faster.
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👩🚀 Loopscale tried to be disruptive — but soon discovered that, in the DeFi world, innovation without security is an empty promise.
In 2025, more than ever, the race is not just to launch projects in the market:
It is to ensure they withstand the initial impact.
And for many, as we have seen, the impact arrives sooner than expected.